Infants and children generally spend a large amount of time in pen-like structures. Because it is not practical to supervise a child in one of these structures continually, a number of safety devices has been developed to prevent the child from climbing or falling out the pen-structure and sustain an injury. Along with these devices came a series of means to secure the cover element to the crib. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,584, by the present inventor, discloses a series of ties for securing the canopy to the crib. Each tie must be separately knotted to sufficient strength to prevent a child from undoing the ties or from the ties loosening by themselves. The patent also discloses the use of Velcro closures for this purpose.
Other devices have been provided to secure a cover to a crib. Among those devices include U.S. Pat. No. 2,883,678 issued to Heffernan which discloses the use of a buckle/strap arrangement for securing a cover to a crib. U.S. Pat. No. 2,927,331 to Ruiz describes use of fabric loops which are secured to the corner posts of the crib. The Ruiz system does not provide the necessary security for an strong or determined child because there is substantially no means to prevent the child from squeezing between the canopy and the top rail at positions between the corner posts. U.S. Pat. No. 3,546,721 issued to Cleary discloses a securing system having a cord which is looped in a laced configuration through the canopy and along the side arms and top bar of the crib. While this system is secure, the time involved in lacing the canopy onto the crib is substantial. Finally, clamps have been shown as a means to maintain a canopy in position as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,349 issued to Gays.
None of the prior art devices known to the inventor provide for a simple, fast, and secure attachment of a child's crib cover to a crib. The desired design should also secure the canopy to the crib to prevent the canopy to the crib to prevent loosening during use.